MotoGP Test Sepang J1: It's here and live!

The season is starting but are you going to bed? Don't worry: we take care of everything!

Tomorrow morning, when you wake up, you will find in this article constantly updated from 3:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. all the information available regarding this first day of 2019 testing for the MotoGP field.

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00h :
The references to take into consideration are currently in 3 times:
– Official circuit record in 1'59.053 to the credit of Dani Pedrosa (Sling),
– Best time in the 2018 IRTA tests in 1'58.830 by Jorge Lorenzo (Dozens),
– Best time of ShakeDown 2019: Aleix Espargaro in 2'00.500 (Aprilia).

In terms of drivers, the most notable fact is the temporary replacement of Jorge Lorenzo injured by Stefan bradl alongside a Marc Márquez still convalescing at Honda despite 79 physiotherapy sessions and 217 hours of recovery. Still at Honda, Cal Crutchlow is also convalescing, after his fall on Phillip Island where he fractured his ankle. At a lower level, Dani Pedrosa is also forced to rest, leaving Mika Kallio fully assume the role of test pilot despite a still weakened knee.

Michelin has just communicated on the tire allocation for this test at Sepang. It is very similar to the one provided for the last Grand Prix in Malaysia.
However, 3 new tires are offered to drivers for evaluation purposes:
– A new Medium/Hard front rubber
– Two rear tires using new technology introduced in 2018 to improve grip and consistency. One is soft, the other medium.

3h :
If a heavy rain fell on Sepang the day before yesterday, the Malaysian weather seems to take a lenient view of the MotoGP tests taking place there, since the latter have so far only experienced a few drops during the 3 days of ShakeDown, and that the sun, or at least the absence of rain, is generally expected until Friday, the last day of the official MotoGP test.
It's 10 a.m., the sky is clear, it's already 28°, the tests can begin!

3h :
After being the fastest during ShakeDown, Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia) was also the quickest to take to the track this morning, just ahead of Stefan Bradl (Honda Test Team) and the 2 drivers of the Reale Avintia Racing team, Karel Abraham et Tito Rabat (Dozens).
Are also in the saddle to take advantage of the relative freshness of the morning Sylvain Guintoli (Suzuki Test Team), Johann Zarco (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing), Fabio Quartararo (Petronas Yamaha SRT), Francis Bagnaia (Alma Pramac Racing) and an M1 from the Yamaha Test Team.
After the first quarter of an hour, it's Sylvain Guintoli (Suzuki Test Team) which set the first benchmark in 2'01.666.

3h30:
With the exception of Marc Marquez, Andrea Dovizioso, Danilo Petrucci, Valentino Rossi and Maverick Vinales, almost the entire field has now completed at least a few laps of the Sepang track.
The best time is now to the credit of Pol Espargaro in 2'01.313, a time already faster than the best time of the Shakedown, and around 3 tenths ahead of his brother Aleix and a second ahead John Zarco.
The most active are Tito Rabat, Stefan Bradl et Aleix I will espargaro with already more than 10 laps completed.
At Yamaha, we warm up the M1s under the eyes of the HRC…

3h :
After the first salvo, most of the bikes returned to their box for a first debriefing, which took advantage of Valentino Rossi to take your first spin with a very colorful helmet! The Doctor quickly moved to 4th position, in 2'01.119, just behind the 2 brothers I will espargaro et Danilo Petrucci.

Still at Yamaha, there are 2 Test Team bikes numbered 31 and 32, but it is difficult to know who is riding what between Katsuyuki Nakasuga et Jonas Folger.

Andrea Dovizioso, Maverick Vinales et Marc Márquez also took to the track.

4H00:
Marc Márquez took to the track and, in just 6 laps, climbed into second position in 2'00.615.

Credit ranking: MotoGP.com

4h15: 
Danilo Petrucci took the lead in 2'00.051 ahead Pol Espargaro : rapid adaptation of the Transalpine to the GP19!
Conversely, Andrea Iannone inaugurated the list of falls, fortunately not serious.
Only 6 drivers are now on the track. It's 31°.

4h30:
Marc Márquez takes second position. Despite his convalescence, the Honda driver has already completed 13 laps, which is quite average.

10 motorcycles are on track, out of 28 present: the adjustment work begins…

4h45:
Stefan bradl still working on the Honda with central air passage, which would tend to confirm that this will be the solution adopted this year... Especially since Marc Márquez also, with a bonus one new, sharper fairing at the air intake.

5h00:
Danilo Petrucci 2 tenths ahead Marc Márquez et Pol Espargaro, and a 4th place provisionally attributed to Valentino Rossi but very disputed between 7 pilots before Franco Morbidelli did a timed lap which made him jump from 11th to 4th position.
The two starters of the Reale Avintia Racing team, Tito Rabat et Karel Abraham, in “road convicts” mode, with 25 and 26 laps already completed.

Credit ranking: MotoGP.com

5h15:
Andrea Dovizioso places himself in the wake of his teammate, 15 hundredths behind. The 2 official Ducatis lead the debates!
The track exceeded 50°.

5h30:
Big improvement in ÁLex Rins who went from 13th to 3rd position, before taking command in 1'59.880.
Also a nice improvement in Valentino Rossi, now 3rd, and  Jack Miller, 6th.
Conversely, the Ducati GP18 of Francis Bagnaia returned to a trailer after a mechanical problem (no fall).
Appearance of a new saddle, more fluid and less rough-hewn, and a new exhaust on official KTMs.

 

See this post on Instagram

 

First photo, KTM's new exhaust unit, send photo, the old one for comparison

A publication shared by David Emmett (@motomatters) Feb 5 2019 at 8:31 PST

5h45:
Maverick Vinales rises to 5 hundredths of ÁLex Rins. For the moment, these are the only two drivers under the 2 minute mark.

6h00:
The Ducatis remain the fastest in top speed, with 326,2 km/h for Andrea Dovizioso… behind the KTM of Pol Espargaro (329)!
Andrea Iannone did not leave after his fall.

Credit ranking: MotoGP.com

6h15:
We don't laugh at Suzuki! As a reminder, the Malaysian Grand Prix is ​​run over 20 laps, orLex Rins et Sylvain Guintoli have already completed 36 and 39 laps!
It's 32° in the air, 55° on the track, it's the “lunch break” and only 4 drivers are still racing: Wineales, Dovizioso, Crutchlow and Bradl.

7h00:
In the last quarter of an hour, Marc Márquez took advantage of his 26th lap to move from 7th position (4 tenths behind) to provisional first place, in 1'59.621. The Honda driver therefore gives himself an advantage of 25 hundredths over Alex Rins. He said it yesterday, “it is not the quantity of rounds that will count, but the quality”.
All motorcycles are currently in their box.

Credit ranking: MotoGP.com

7h30:
Only the KTM RC16s of the Tech3 team are on the track. Miguel Oliveira is currently at 1 tenth of John Zarco while Hafiz Syahrin seems to be struggling more, 6 tenths behind his teammate. Technical problem for the Portuguese rider… His motorcycle returns in a trailer.
The Tech3 team motorcycles have the new fairing. For the new saddle-exhaust assembly, it's hard to say (we'll find out).

7h45:
No one left on the track, so to pass the time...

8h00:
Still no one on the trail...

Credit ranking: MotoGP.com

8h30:

A Yamaha from the Test Team, Pol Espargaro et Stefan bradl took to the track for a few laps, just ahead of the other Yamaha Team Test and Joan mir. The Honda driver progressed to 7th position.
The time of Mika Kallio is blocked, which could mean a fall or a technical problem, but, in any case, we seem to be heading towards a resumption of activity on the track despite the surface having barely dropped to 59°.
We learned afterwards that, this morning, when Andrea Iannone fell, it was his first attack lap, the previous times having been achieved by Bradley Smith on the handlebars of the Italian's motorcycle.

9h00:
Of course, the classification has not changed but there are now 7 motorcycles on the track (see the names without the letter P) and things will accelerate during the 2 hours that remain before the track closes.
Marc Márquez decided to stop for today.
Takaaki Nakagami tried the same tank cover as that of Jorge Lorenzo.

Credit ranking: MotoGP.com

9h30:
No less than 10 motorcycles are currently on the track but the ranking shows no change.
Who, “fresh”, will be the first to put on a new rear tire?

10h00:
Mika Kallio try big cooling vents on its fairing.

Jack Miller, then 10th, set off for an attack lap but his time suddenly stopped…
same for me Pol Espargaro a few seconds later. We thought it was a timing problem, but no, both drivers fell at the same place (turn 2), without seriousness.

Credit ranking: MotoGP.com

10h30:
fabio quartararo is 16th, half a second behind his teammate and just behind Francesco Bagnaia, the first rookie for the moment. The French driver lined up 59 laps, the greatest number (the distance of 3 GP!), tied with Stefan Bradl.

 

11h00:

25 minutes from the end of the session,Lex Rins (2nd) achieves the best time in the first sector but does not improve in the following. In the process, Andrea Dovizioso (6th) does the same. A few moments later, Tito Rabat (13th) gains 4 place in the ranking.

Things remained there until a quarter of an hour before the checkered flag, when Danilo Petrucci, then 4th, improved his first 3 sectors but lost everything in the 4th.

Conversely, Takaaki Nakagami really improves and goes from 8th to 6th position.

Five minutes later, Tito Rabat, still 9th, gets back on track and climbs to 4th position! Best Ducati!

In the last 5 minutes, Miguel Oliveira pass Johann zarco et fabio quartararo to take 16th place.

But in the end, it's good Marc Marquez who remains the leader even though he has only completed 29 laps and left his leathers a long time ago. Additionally, the Honda rider said he braked earlier than usual because his shoulder was still weak. Enough to touch the morale of his adversaries...

The track is now closed and the drivers will head to the press debriefings. This article will therefore no longer be updated.. Thank you and see you tomorrow, at the same time.

Credit ranking: MotoGP.com